Short-term volunteering
The Happy Farms of Upper and Lower Hamlet all have volunteering positions available for 2025. For the duration of the volunteering you will be a Happy Farmer, working and practicing as part of the team and part of the Plum Village community. You find more information about how we work and practice here. We prioritize applicants who have attended at least one retreat in this tradition or have experience with a local Plum Village Sangha. Because the work can be physically demanding we ask that only those in good physical condition apply. Volunteering on the Happy Farm involves more working hours than a regular retreatant. The cost per month is approximately €400 /Euros. You must camp and you must provide your own camping equipment such as tent and sleeping bags. Or you can stay in your own caravan or camper van.
Please apply with a letter of about your motivation to practice and farm along with a short CV to the relevant hamlet.
The Upper Hamlet Happy Farm welcomes those who identify as men, male couples, mixed gender couples and non binary friends. In 2025 the Upper Hamlet Happy Farm will welcome volunteers during the months of June, July, August, September and October. In Upper Hamlet we prioritise those who can commit for a minimum of one whole month. There will be specific arrival and departure days at the beginning and at the end of each month for our farm volunteers.
Please email your letter to the following address to apply.
For those who identify as women, those in a couple (female couples and mixed gender couples) and gender non conforming friends. Positions will be available in the Lower Hamlet Happy Farm for a period of one to two months in May, June, July, August and September 2025. Please email your letter to the following address to apply. The applicants should have attended at least one retreat in-person in this tradition. We may prioritize applicants who already have an experience in gardening.
Lower Hamlet Happy Farm: lowerhamlethappyfarm@plumvillage.org
For those who identify as women, those in a couple (female couples and mixed gender couples) and gender non conforming friends. Positions will be available in the New Hamlet Happy Farm for a period of one to two months in May, June, July, August and September 2025. Please email your letter to the following address to apply. The applicants should have attended at least one retreat in-person in this tradition. We may prioritize applicants who already have an experience in gardening.
New Hamlet Happy Farm: nh-happyfarm@plumvillage.org
Deer Park Happy Farm
In Spring 2025 the community in Deer Park Monastery in Southern California created their own Happy Farm project, inspired by the Happy Farms of Plum Village France. The vision of Deer Park Happy Farm is to cultivate a space where mindfulness intersects with sustainable agriculture, nourishing the well-being of individuals, society, and the planet. We hope not only to feed the monastery, but also to involve our neighbors and their families in helping with the farm, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose.
May this farm become a sacred place of practice, where each seed planted is a prayer, each harvest a song of gratitude.
For more information please visit:
https://deerparkmonastery.org/initiatives/deer-park-happy-farm/